CHICAGO – Zach Morley scored a career-high 23 points, giving No. 23 Wisconsin the offensive punch it needed Friday night to finally beat Ohio State 60-49 in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

Wisconsin’s top scorers, Alando Tucker and Mike Wilkinson, struggled from the field and scored 12 each for the Badgers, who finally put victory away by scoring the final eight points of the game.

Morley, who was 8-for-11 from the field on a series of moves, bailed the Badgers out.

Terence Dials had 12 points and Matt Sylvester and J.J Sullinger 11 each for the Buckeyes, who didn’t score in the final 2:59 after Sullinger’s basket brought them to within 52-49.

Ohio State shot just 34 percent against Wisconsin’s scrappy defense.

Trailing by 11 at the half, Ohio State started the second on a 10-2 spurt behind four points each from Dials and Sylvester to close to within three.

Ohio State forged its second tie of the half at 39 on a layup by Je’Kel Foster before Morley hit a 3-pointer and another jumper and Wilkinson sank two free throws and banked in a shot to put the Badgers up 48-41.

But Dials scored, Sullinger tipped in a miss and Tony Stockman made two free throws to make it 48-47 with 4:20 to play.

Morley once again hit a jumper – this one popped up and then went in – to give the Badgers some breathing room. And after making a nice lob pass to Tucker for a basket, Morley banked in a shot with 1:52 left, starting the Badgers’ closing run.

Morley added two free throws and Tucker four points to finally put the Buckeyes away.

Wisconsin took a 29-18 halftime lead, using 10 points from Morley, a 21-4 run and an aggressive defense.

But there would be no easy victory for the Badgers, who beat the Buckeyes twice in the regular season.

The Badgers fell in an early 8-2 hole and then held Ohio State to one basket over the next seven minutes while using a 15-2 run to build a 17-10 lead.

Sylvester scored to cut it to five, but then the Badgers took off again with eight straight points for a 13-point lead.

Ohio State ran off six in a row before Tucker grabbed two straight offensive rebounds and scored, and Morley made a spinning move a basket in the closing seconds for the 11-point lead.

AP-ES-03-11-05 2343EST